*The "up to" speed displayed in Mb is the maximum possible speed you are likely to receive for this product. The actual speed you will get depends on your cabling, your area and (with non-fibre optic products) time of day and how far you are from the telephone exchange. Most providers will tell you the likely speed you will receive when you begin your online sign up - this may differ from the speed displayed in the table.

While most broadband connections use telephone lines or mobile networks, fibre-optic or cable broadband is delivered through special underground cables separate from the telephone network. This allows the signals to travel much faster than through traditional copper cables, with the result that UK broadband providers can offer super-fast connection speeds of up to 330Mbps.

Cable broadband is not currently available everywhere in the UK though there are plans to roll it out across the country. Virgin Media's top-end cable broadband service provides speeds of up to 120Mbps, or up to 152Mbps in areas where it has upgraded its network.

BT's Infinity service features a headline speed of 76Mpbs, but this rises to 330Mbps if you're lucky enough to live in area where BT offers a special so-called 'pure fibre/pure cable' broadband service.

BT licenses its fibre-optic network to other broadband providers such as TalkTalk, Plusnet and Eclipse, you can also get cable broadband from them too.

Fibre-optic speeds

BT's pure fibre or fibre to the premises (FTTP) Infinity service is the UK's fastest connection at 330Mbps, but is only available in select locations.

A pure cable broadband service is when the fibre-optic cable runs from your provider directly to your house. That's in contrast to other, so-called fibre to the exchange fibre services where the cable runs as far as the network box outside your home. Standard copper cables are then used for the last bit of the journey that brings broadband to your home.

What does super fast cable broadband mean to the user?

For the sake of example with a 100Mbps connection, you can:

Download an entire music album in as little as 5 seconds

Download a TV show in around 30 seconds

Stream HD films directly to your computer without waiting

Host multiplayer online games with multiple players

Download games in as little as 2 minutes

Download a high def movie in around 7 minutes or standard high quality movie in 1 and a half minutes

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